Interesting Times
by puellascribit5
Summary: Neal continued to gaze at the treasure that surrounded him. Just a few hours ago he though it all burst into flames in that old warehouse. The only question is, what now?
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N):** So this is my first fanfic, and I know its probably terrible, so bear with me! This will be sort of a continuation of 'Under the Radar'. Mistakes you find are my own, and I don't own anything (sadly!).

* * *

**Chapter 1  
**

Neal continued to gaze at the treasure that surrounded him. Just a few hours ago he though it all burst into flames in that old warehouse. Now, he had it all to himself! Billions and billions of dollars worth of art all in his reach! The only question—what now? He turned around at the sound of the storage door opening, bracing himself for any unwelcome visitors, or perhaps the cavalry. But instead, it was none other than Alex. _Of course it's Alex_, Neal thought.

"It's about time you showed up, Caffrey." Alex started with her usual sly self.

"I can't say I haven't been busy." Neal countered. And that was the truth; he had been through a heck of a day. Almost getting killed, watching your partner kill the man that killed the love of your life, and get accused again by that same partner does take some time out of your day.

"Uh huh… Well? Aren't you going to say thank you?" Alex said as she walked over to the center of the storage room.

"I don't understand. Why? Why leave all this…for me? I thought this was your destiny." he said as he tried to think of any reasons why Alex would lead him to all of this.

"Have I really stumped the Great Neal Caffrey?" Alex said with a smirk. "You can't think of any reason?"

"Actually no, I can't."

"Well, I would have thought it was obvious. Here's your chance at getting back in the game! The Feds think all this was destroyed, this is your perfect opportunity to run and make sure you never get caught again." Alex said as she placed her hands on Neal's shoulders.

"You're the one who blew up the warehouse?" Neal asked, hoping she wouldn't sense the slight anger in his voice. _The one who placed my paintings in instead? The paintings that made Peter accuse me of everything?_

"Yeah, and I'm sorry I had to use your paintings. They were truly beautiful works, but there was no way I was going to let Adler get away with all of this. Like you said, this was my destiny, my grandfather's secret. So, I needed some canvas as evidence for the Feds if they looked for remains of the art." explained Alex.

They were silent for a while, just standing there as they waited for each others next move. Neal didn't know how to go about this. _You can either be a con or a man, you can't be both. _Peter's voice echoed in his head. Should he take it all now, cut the anklet, and run away with Alex with no regrets? Or should he stay, with people that care about him? If Neal was asked the question a year ago, there would be no doubt that he'd run with the treasure. But now…now he has a life here.

Alex knew what Neal was thinking. She wasn't stupid; she knew that this might happen. Neal did have a life here and there was nothing she could do about it. And while she will never change her ways, it doesn't mean Neal won't.

"Its fine, Neal." Alex whispered with a hint of regret as she cupped Neal's face with her hands and leaned in for a kiss. To her surprise, there was a kiss back from him. Not just a kiss, but a goodbye kiss…

"Oh no, you won't be getting rid of me that fast, Caffrey." Alex said as she pulled away and handed Neal a slip of paper. "Got a new phone, I'll keep in touch." she said with a smile.

"Bye, Alex."

"Bye, Neal." And with that said, Alex walked out of the storage room.

_I can't believe that just happened._ Neal thought. If he ever thought he was close to understanding Alex before, he certainly wasn't now. Neal flipped open his cell as he clicked through his contacts. He scrolled down to Mozzie and paused. Once again he scrolled up and down the list until he finally knew who he was going to call and pressed the call button. As he heard the person on the other line pick up, he sighed and prepared himself for what he was about to do.

* * *

**(A/N):** Yeah, its short, sorry. I think I know where I want to go with this and would be happy to continue but don't know if I should. This is just my take on what could possibly happen next. Please review and let me know what works and doesn't. :) Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N):** Wow! Thanks everyone for the nice reviews and story alerts! I managed to get this in before starting my homework. Any mistakes you find are my own and I don't own anything. Warning- this chapter does contain some minor swearing.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Reese Hughes was about to walk out of the front door to the FBI's White Collar division when he turned around.

"Jones. Barrigan." he called out.

Clinton and Diana immediately looked up to their superior and simultaneously said, "Sir?"

"I need my agents well rested so I expect you two out of this office in 10 minutes." Hughes paused. "And that's an order."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you." Jones replied as Hughes turned and went out the door.

"That was unexpected." Diana said with disbelief. "We still have to write out and organize today's reports."

"Maybe Hughes is going soft." Jones proposed with a smile.

"Ha, right. Hughes going soft? I don't think so." Diana laughed.

"Well, let's get the hell out of here! We wouldn't want to disobey a direct order." said Jones happily.

Diana went back to her desk to grab her bag and Jones went to dispose of their stale coffee. They were more often than not the last two agents in the office. To be on Agent Burke's team meant you had to be at the top of your game and get your work done right. And some times, that required you giving up a few extra hours of sleep to finish case reports.

Jones opened the door for Diana and they both walked out toward the elevator when…

_Bzzzzz._

"Damn. What now?" groaned Diana when she searched through her purse for her cell phone.

"You've got to be kidding me." sighed Jones.

"This is Barrigan." Diana said with a stern voice. It was hard to conceal your anger when you were sleep deprived. She heard a hard sigh at the end of the phone.

"_Diana…its Neal."_

"Who is it?" Jones asked.

Diana held the phone away from her mouth and said, "Neal."

"Well, what does he want?"

"I don't know." She placed the phone back by her mouth. "Neal, what could you possibly need me for right now? I'm with Jones about to leave the office. Can't you just call Peter?" As soon as she mentioned Peter, she regretted it. Peter and Neal were probably not talking to each other. The incident at the warehouse was pretty bad. She and Jones both played witness to Neal and Peter's outburst. Neal was really part of the team now so why would he jeopardize everything? But then Peter was nearly always right. Truthfully, she didn't know what to think or who to believe right now.

_"I'm going to need you to track my anklet. Meet me here. You can bring Jones if he wants to come. It's important."_

"Do you want to elaborate some more?"

"_No. You'll see when you get here."_

"Fine. It damn well better be important or I might actually break your arms this time." Diana said as she unlocked the front doors to the office. "I'll go look up your location."

"What's going on? I thought we were leaving?" Jones asked impatiently as Diana walked over to her computer and pulled up Neal's tracking data.

"Okay, got your location. We'll be there in 15 minutes." Diana said over the phone to Neal.

"_I'll be here."_ Neal said lastly as Diana hung up her phone.

"So? Are we leaving now?" asked Jones.

"Change of plans. Caffrey wants us to meet up with him. Apparently it's important."

"Isn't it always?" Jones said sarcastically.

"Well, let's get this over with. I'd like to actually go home before the sun comes up."

"You and me both." agreed Jones as they both locked the doors and headed into the elevator.

* * *

Peter was lying on the couch with the game on, though he wasn't really watching. He was in a daze, after all, he killed someone today. No, not just any someone. He killed Adler, one of the most notorious white collar criminals in history. Vincent Adler, the man who was behind Fowler's wife's murder, the whole 'Kate thing', and who almost killed his friend.

There's that word again…_ friend_.

After Peter had a chance to cool down, he realized he made a big mistake. He accused Neal once more of lying to him. This was just like the diamond heist a year ago. But, he did see that burning piece of Neal's painting on the ground right in front of him. What he didn't think of was that anyone could have easily placed Neal's paintings in the warehouse. He should have at least gotten more evidence first, but that's not what happened. He went right out and accused Neal of everything. He screwed up, again.

"Honey?" Elizabeth's voice came from the stairs.

"Hmm?"

"Are you coming to bed?" El asked as she made her way down to him. "Looks like the game is over." She pointed to their TV which was showing some commercial for some sort of super absorbent towel.

"Oh, I guess I wasn't really watching." Peter sighed as he flicked off the TV. Earlier he told El the whole story, and she was a great listener –_weren't all women?_ He wished he was a better listener. He also wished he could put the agent side of him away for once and learn to actually be a friend. But that was easier said than done.

"Come on. Scoot over." she said as she sat down on the couch and snuggled up close to him.

"I messed up. Big time." admitted Peter.

"Things happen, Peter. We learn from our mistakes." El said supportively.

"I just don't know how to fix this."

"Well," she started, "One thing's for sure, you aren't going to fix it this late at night. Tomorrow's another day."

"Yeah, I guess I'll call Neal tomorrow. We need to work this out. And find out who the hell is responsible for this mess." Peter said as he and Elizabeth made their way up the stairs. "Thanks hon." He finally said when they were both lying in bed.

"It's what I'm here for, honey" El said with a smile as they both leaned in for a kiss and then went to bed.

* * *

"Caffrey! You in here?" Jones shouted out with Diana in tow.

"Neal, where are you?" Diana yelled. _Why is Neal in a storage room?_

It was pitch black when Jones spotted a light switch and flicked it up.

"Holy…"

"Oh my.."

There it was! All the treasure was sitting right in front of them. Tons and tons of priceless art and artifacts surrounded Jones and Diana. They both heard footsteps approaching and placed their hands on their guns but relaxed when they saw it was just Neal.

"Neal! Why the hell is all this here?" Diana started with a loud voice that echoed throughout the storage unit.

"Don't tell us you actually stole this stuff." Jones said angrily. He really thought Neal was innocent, even when he saw his little confrontation with Peter. The last thing Jones wanted to be doing right now was reading Neal his rights and throwing him back in prison.

"No. It wasn't me." Neal said truthfully as he handed Diana the card that was left on his table at June's.

"Any idea who left this?" Diana handed the card to Jones.

"_You'll thank me._" Jones said out loud and then paused. "Thank who? The little guy?"

"No, no, it wasn't him." said Neal.

"You do know who it is, right?" asked Diana.

Neal didn't answer right away. _He definitely knows._ Diana thought.

"Is that really so important? I mean it's all here right? We can call it a grey area…"

"I don't think so, Neal." Jones said.

Neal sighed. "Alex. It was Alex. I guess she managed to find the warehouse before us and got it all out. She placed my paintings in instead, just in case you guys went looking for burnt pieces of canvas. Left me this at June's, and when I came here she wanted me to run with her." He paused. "And as you can see, I didn't run."

"Wow…Neal, I don't know what to say." Diana started. "I—"

"You don't have to say anything. It's fine." Neal said half-heartedly.

"Okay then. Jones, what time is it?" Diana turned to face Jones.

Jones pulled down his jacket sleeve to show his watch. "It's about one in the morning. Why?"

"Well, obviously we got to call this in. Though, Hughes won't be too happy about us waking him up this early."

"I'm sure all this is more important than sleep right now." Jones countered as Diana took out her phone and started to walk away to call Hughes.

Jones back over to Neal and said, "You did good, Neal, really." with a smile and patted him on the shoulder. _That was weird_, Jones thought, _Peter is the one who usually says that…_

_

* * *

_**(A/N):** I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! I really liked writing Jones and Diana, I hope to see them more involved in season 3! Let me know if any of the characters feel OOC or anything. I was totally planning the rest of the story out during school and I might plan on going pretty far with it. Question- you guys like Neal whumpage? If all goes as planned, there might just be some (and Peter comfort too!). Thanks again!_  
_


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N):** Woo! This chapter is longer so I hope you like it. I don't own anything and any mistakes you find are my own.

* * *

**Chapter 3  
**

Peter slowly made his way out of the shower and got dressed. He definitely did not sleep well last night. Flashes of Neal getting shot by Adler and a dozen other outcomes that could have happened yesterday made their way into his dreams, turning them into nightmares. If he was lucky, Hughes might have a new case for them; one that doesn't involve any music boxes or U-boats.

As he made his way down the stairs he heard Elizabeth preparing something in the kitchen. When he made it all the way downstairs, El came out of the kitchen and handed him a mug of coffee.

She smiled as she handed him the cup, "It's no Italian Roast, but I think it'll suffice."

"Thanks, sweetie." He said as he took a sip. _Mmm, not half bad!_ Peter thought. _Maybe Elizabeth should make the coffee more often…_

"You're welcome, honey." Elizabeth made her way back to the table to grab her bags. "Well, I got to head out. Two clients are requesting plans for a double wedding and it's going to be very big."

"I know you'll do just fine. " Peter said, reassuringly.

"I hope so." she said as she walked back over to Peter for a goodbye kiss. "You'll talk to Neal today, right?" El questioned.

A slight pause from Peter made El worry. Neal was really a part of their dysfunctional family, whether both men wanted to admit it or not. Elizabeth didn't want this to be the end of Peter and Neal's partnership.

"Peter…" she started, "You're going to have to ta—"

"I know." Peter let out a sigh. Would Neal even forgive him? Despite all their disagreeing, he really did enjoy having Neal around. Though, he would never say that out loud.

"Trust is a two way street, Peter. And I trust you to take care of this."

"Don't worry, I will." he promised.

"Okay, well I really have to go now. You'll be home for dinner tonight, right?"

"As far as I know." Peter really didn't want to miss another dinner. "Maybe I'll cut out early and come home to make one of my famous pot roasts."

"Oh, you know I'd like that." she said as she leaned in for one more kiss and then started for the door. "Bye honey! I'll call you later!"

"Bye, hon." After Elizabeth left, Peter put on his suit jacket and headed out the door to the Taurus.

* * *

Neal was opening his apartment door to head out to the office when he nearly ran right into Mozzie.

"Whoa! Don't you think you could have knocked?" Neal said as he composed himself.

"Clear conscience never fears midnight knocking." Mozzie countered.

"It's not midnight Moz."

"That's not the point."

Neal sighed, "As much as I'd love to chat, I was about to head to the office. They told me to come in early."

"Of course they did." Mozzie said as he walked into Neal's apartment and Neal reluctantly followed.

"So," Mozzie paused. "I may or may not have heard an interesting tale about a certain treasure being found last night."

"Oh, really?"

"Neal, please, I don't want to do this. I already know. Alex called me and told me everything."

"Well, if you know the whole story, did you just come over to deplete the rest of my wine? Or did you just want to criticize me for turning all the stuff over to the FBI?"

"Yes to the wine. No to the criticizing."

Neal was shocked. He thought that Mozzie would be furious with him for handing over the treasure. But then again, Mozzie seemed to like what they had at the moment. He had June's book club, trying out Elizabeth's catering samples, and he even appeared to get along with Sara. Though, Neal wouldn't say that Mozzie was comfortable with the _Suits_ just yet.

"Don't you think it's a little too early for wine?"

"It is never too early for wine." Mozzie said. "And stop changing the subject."

"I'm not changing the subject." They both knew that was a lie.

"Neal, I'm not going to keep you from heading over to the bureaucratic abyss, I just had to make sure what I heard was true."

"And it is true." Neal sat down at the kitchen table and Mozzie took his usual chair across from him.

"So, you plan on taking the true love route?" asked Mozzie.

Neal thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess I am. What I have right now is good, and I don't want to lose it."

"That's all I wanted to know." Mozzie got up and made his way over to the wine. "Have you talked to Sara since the other night? I hear you owe her a lunch..."

* * *

Peter pushed the elevator button and made his way into the elevator to head up to the office. He was pleasantly surprised to find it empty. _Perfect, one extra minute of silence!_ Peter thought. Sadly, his silence was short lived when he heard someone call out…

"Hey! Could you hold the doors?"

Peter didn't want to be rude, so he held the elevator doors open and saw a young probie rush in with tons of paper in his hands.

"Thanks, man." the younger agent said gratefully.

Peter nodded and was getting ready to let go of the doors again when…

"Hold up!" the probie shouted as Peter grabbed hold of the elevator doors again. "I see someone walking over. Mind holding the doors for him?"

"Sure." Peter tried not to sound irritated. He heard footsteps approaching the elevator and turned to see who he was holding the doors for.

_You've got to be kidding me._

It was Neal.

"Uh…It's okay, really. I can take the next one up." Neal said nervously as he peaked in and saw Peter.

"Nonsense. Come on, there's plenty of room." the younger agent assured Neal. What he didn't know was that Neal wasn't worried about if there was room or not in the elevator.

"Okay." said Neal as he regretfully stepped into the elevator and watched Peter release the doors.

"You mind pressing floor 19 for me? Kinda got my hands full at the moment…" the probie asked.

"Yeah, no problem." Peter said as he reached over and pressed the button that had the number 19 on it. "Floor 19? You're in Organized Crime?"

"Oh yes sir! I'm Agent Ruiz's new probie. Today is my first day." He sighed. "And I'm already 20 minutes late."

Peter waited for Neal to make some smart-ass comment about Ruiz and when he didn't, Peter said, "Don't worry about it, he'll understand." reassuringly, even though he had no clue how Ruiz would respond. What he did know was that Ruiz wasn't that pleasant to work with.

Neal, Peter, and Ruiz's new agent all waited for the elevator to reach the 19th floor. Well, no that's not right, Neal and Peter were dreading the moment the younger man left the elevator. They didn't know what to say to each other. Neal was still furious about Peter accusing him once again. He didn't plan on forgiving Peter any time soon. And Peter didn't know how even start to apologize to Neal.

Before they knew it, or wanted to, the elevator hit the 19th floor when the probie said, "Wish me luck!" and stepped out to go meet his new boss.

_Well, this is extremely awkward. _Neal thought.

Peter disrupted their awkward silence as he coughed which made Neal turn to face Peter. They both just stared at each other for a slight moment and then Neal looked away.

"Neal I—"Peter didn't get to finish as the elevator now was level with the 21st floor. As soon as the doors opened, Neal sped-walked out and into the office and walked over to Diana.

"Morning, Neal." greeted Diana. She frowned when she saw Peter enter the office looking like something was deeply bothering him. _They still aren't talking. Great, this is not what I needed today._ Diana thought.

After Peter walked by them both without looking back, he headed up to his office and closed the doors.

"Diana, I was wondering if—"Neal started but was cut off.

"What is it Neal? Any of your other friends leave you anything interesting in a storage unit?"

"No, but that's sort of what I wanted to ask you about."

"Well, go on."

"I was just hoping that we could maybe say that you guys got an anonymous tip off about the storage unit? I'd like to keep Alex's name out of one more FBI file."

"Neal, that's not how we do things here."

"Please." Neal pleaded. Diana looked into his eyes and saw extreme concern for his friend.

Diana sighed and then said, "Alright. Only on one condition, you bring me some of June's Italian Roast for a month," she paused, "and you stop asking me for any more favors. Understood?"

"Yes, I do. Thanks. You have no idea what this means to me." Neal didn't expect Diana to do that. He thought she would have rejected him.

"I think I have a pretty good idea." Diana smiled and she patted Neal on the arm. "But I expect a cup of that Italian Roast on my desk tomorrow morning when I walk in."

* * *

_What are they talking about?_ Peter wondered as he watched Neal and Diana down in the bullpen. As much as he wanted to go down and ask, he knew he couldn't face Neal right now. He still had to figure out how to apologize to him. Peter heard a knock at his office door and got up to open it and saw Jones in front of him.

"Yes, Jones?"

"Sir, Hughes sent me to brief you about last night." Jones said as he followed Peter into his office and closed the door behind him.

"Last night? What happened last night?" Peter felt completely out of the loop.

"I had a feeling Caffrey didn't call you, so I thought I'd just wait till when you came in to talk."

Peter was confused and had no idea why Neal would have needed to call him last night. "Well, Jones, spit it out." He tried not to sound angry but he had a feeling he did when he saw Jones straighten up.

"Caffrey called us over to meet him at a storage unit late last night. Turns out Ms. Hunter is the one who moved the treasure. She apparently left it for Neal and wanted him to run with her. The evidence recovery team is taking care of taking inventory of the art as we speak."

Now that he was one hundred percent sure that Neal didn't steal the treasure, Peter felt a million times worse than he did before. He was thinking of how to fix this mess with Neal when he forgot that Jones was still standing in front of him.

Peter coughed then said, "Sorry, Jones. That will be all."

"No problem. Oh, and we are meeting in the conference room in five."

"Okay, thank you."

Jones was about to walk out when he turned around to face Peter.

"Uh, Peter?" Jones said, unsure of himself.

"Yes?"

"I know it isn't any of my business, but, I hope that you and Neal fix things out. You two work best when you're on the same page."

"I…thanks for your concern, Clinton. I'll see you in a few."

"Sure thing."

Peter sat for a few more minutes, contemplating what Jones had said. It was true; he and Neal were always on the top of their game when they understood each other. He wondered if things would ever get back to the way they were before.

"Peter?" He looked up at the sound of the familiar voice to see Diana standing at his door. "Everyone is waiting in the conference room."

"Okay, let's go." Peter stood up and walked into the conference room and sat down. But this time, not in his usual spot next to Neal.

"Last night we received an _anonymous tip,"_ Diana glanced at Jones and Neal very quickly and then continued, "that lead us to the missing treasure from the U-boat. Now the evidence recovery team is already on the job so until they sort all the art out, Hughes gave us a new case."

Jones began to hand out their new case and then the meeting started. They were now investigating Michael Klein, who was suspected of stealing a Matisse from the Met last week. There was little known about him at the moment so the meeting was brief.

"And Neal, if you could go meet up with your street contacts after lunch that would be great." Diana said after everyone disbanded for lunch.

"No problem." Neal said as he walked past Peter to go back to his desk, only to find Sara sitting in his chair.

"Well, it's about time you got out." Sara said with a smile as she got out of Neal's chair.

"Yeah, well we got a new case."

"That's good. Who's the suspect?" Sara asked.

"His name is Michael Klein. He's apparently new to the criminal world."

"Ah."

"Yes, but enough about FBI cases," Neal smiled as he looked into her eyes, "I believe I still owe you a lunch."

* * *

**(A/N):** Gosh, I think that is the most I've ever written at one time, haha! Also, thanks for all the reviews/favorites/story alerts. They really make my day! Oh and the quote that Mozzie said when he talked to Neal is a Chinese Proverb. I looked up "knocking quotes" and that one came up! I thought it fit pretty well into the story and it sounds like something he would say. Anyways, I'm thinking Peter and Neal need to be friends again, its so hard writing them while they are angry! Let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N):** You guys are fantastic! Thanks so much for the nice reviews/favorites/story alerts. Any mistakes you find are my own and I sadly don't own anything.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

A week had past and neither Neal nor Peter had confronted each other. Elizabeth was out of town visiting her sister so she wasn't around to force Peter to actually sit down and talk to Neal. Earlier in the week, Peter had to go to a meeting with the higher ups about shooting Adler. Of course, he wasn't in trouble since Adler was pointing a gun at Neal about to kill him; it was just standard protocol to come in.

Neal was getting use to walking to work with Sara every other day and having lunch with Mozzie in between. Sara hinted on numerous occasions that he should talk to Peter or she would take matters into her own hands.

Back at the office, things were pretty busy since they got word from one of Neal's street contacts that Klein was planning another heist at the Powell very soon. Sadly, that was all the info they had on him. Klein was extremely talented for such a new criminal; he kept his head down and covered his tracks.

It was just after lunch on Friday when Neal came into the office looking confused.

"Something wrong, Neal?" inquired Diana.

"Sort of. I just met up with another friend of mine who said that he heard Klein was planning to hit the MoMA tonight."

"That can't be right. Klein was rumored to be hitting the Powell…_tonight_." Diana said, equally confused.

"I know."

"Well, one of the rumors has to be wrong. He can't be in two places at once." Diana looked up to Hughes' office to see him just getting off the phone. "Here, let's talk to Hughes."

Neal and Diana made their way up to Hughes' office and knocked on the door. They walked in when they heard a muffled "Come in." from the other side of the glass wall.

"Caffrey. Barrigan. What do you two need?" Hughes was clearly not happy after his last phone call.

"Sir, Caffrey just came from a source saying that Klein will be hitting the MoMA tonight." Diana started.

Hughes sat down in his chair. "I thought he was planning to be at the Powell. We already have a team planned to stake out there tonight."

"Yes, and that is our dilemma."

"Okay." Hughes paused before he got out of his chair and walked past Neal and Diana to the railing above the bullpen. "Burke. Jones. My office." He called out as he gave the infamous double finger point towards Peter and Jones. As Hughes made his way back into his office to sit down, Peter and Jones entered and stood next to Neal and Diana.

"We just got wind that Klein is apparently going to be at the MoMA tonight." Hughes said.

"But, sir, he was rumored to be hitting the Powell tonight." Jones replied.

"Correct. And that is why I want you four to stake out both museums tonight. Barrigan, you are with Jones at the MoMA. And that leaves Burke with Caffrey at the Powell." He stifled a laugh when he saw both Peter and Neal's faces drop when he finished teaming them all up. Hughes was well aware of the fight between Peter and Neal. The office was much quieter than normal and noticed that they haven't spoken to each other since before the Adler case.

Peter was about to protest when Hughes said, "No complaints, my word is final. You all are dismissed."

Jones and Diana walked out of Hughes' office with grins on their faces, and both thought the same thing.

_This will be interesting…_

* * *

It was about time for Neal, Peter, Jones, and Diana to head out to their separate stake outs. Despite having been placed together for the stake out, Neal and Peter still haven't spoken a word to each other. When they all got down to the parking garage and said their goodbyes and good lucks, Jones and Diana hopped into one surveillance van and Neal and Peter took the other.

Peter drove the van all the way to the Powell and parked it across the street. Neal, who was sitting quietly in the back, got up and turned on the monitors. Peter took a deep breath. _It's now or never…_

"Neal."

"What?" That was the first word that Neal said to him since a week ago. Clearly Neal wasn't planning on talking to him during the stakeout. "Wait, you know what? Save it, don't waste your breath." Neal added as he sat back down in the chair and stared at a random monitor. Yep, Neal was definitely still mad.

_What would El do?_ Peter thought. "I…" He stopped himself and sat down right next to Neal and looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life calling you out like that. I was out of line. You didn't deserve any of it. And I'm sick of not talking to you. El misses you and Mozzie coming by the house—heck, even Satchmo misses you." He paused. "Most importantly... _I_ miss having you around."

Neal was speechless. He was actually starting to think Peter would never apologize. Neal didn't know what to do. He wanted to still be upset, but Peter didn't say he was just sorry; he came right out and said that he _missed him._

Both men sat in silence for a good while and Peter was just about ready to give up all hope when Neal said, "Thank you."

Neal said it so softly that Peter thought he was hearing things. "What?" He had to make sure that his ears weren't deceiving him.

"I said, thank you." Neal turned to face Peter again. "I never got to say it. You saved my life that day. If you hadn't come when you did, Adler might have…he would have k—"

Neal stopped from finishing his sentence when he felt Peter place a comforting hand on his arm.

"It's alright. You would have done the same for me." Peter said as he managed a smile and was happy to see that Neal half-smiled back.

Silence filled the van again as both men decided to continue watching the monitors. Yeah, things were getting better, but they were still far from perfect.

* * *

"What do you think they are doing?" Jones asked Diana. He didn't have to be specific since they both knew what certain agent and consultant he was referring to.

"I don't know. Hopefully they aren't ripping each other's limbs off."

"Yeah." Jones paused to think as he turned to Diana. "Ten bucks says that they'll still be fighting when we come in tomorrow."

"Jones! You've got to be kidding me. You aren't serious are you?" Diana said as she turned around.

"You're right. That was unnecessary." Jones said shamefully.

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant." Diana turned to face Jones as she took out her wallet and shook it. "Fifteen says that Peter apologizes and they'll be talking by tomorrow."

"Oh, you're on." They both started laughing as they reluctantly went back to watching the monitors for any movement.

* * *

Neal was barely watching the computer screen as he heard a noise from the other side of the van. He looked over his shoulder to see Peter, who was passed out sideways in his chair, snoring. Peter _never_ fell asleep on a stake out before so Neal could easily guess that he hasn't been getting enough sleep. Neal took this chance to get a good look at his friend. Peter looked like he was having a pleasant dream and Neal didn't want to wake him from his slumber, but it seemed like Klein was a no show. Neal decided to check in with Jones and Diana to see if Klein paid them a visit, though he doubted it because if he did show, one of them would have called by now. He grabbed his cell and texted Diana: _No sign of Klein yet. Do you want to call it?_ and then put his phone back in his pocket.

Peter's snoring increased significantly and Neal began to wonder how Elizabeth managed to sleep listening to it. He turned back to the monitor to see absolutely no movement when…

There! Neal could have sworn he saw a reflection of light coming from inside the building! But how did their thief get inside without tripping the alarms? Neal thought for a moment that he was just tired and seeing things when he saw a figure moving inside the gallery. He quickly reached over to shake Peter's shoulder.

"El, five more minutes." Peter mumbled as he shifted in the uncomfortable chair.

"Peter! Get up, Klein is inside!" Neal shouted and clearly it worked since Peter shot right up and almost fell out of his chair.

"You sure?"

"I'm positive."

"Okay, let me call in Jones and Diana for backup and we'll wait." Peter said as he pulled out his phone to dial Diana's number and waited for her to pick up.

"_Yeah boss?"_

"Diana. He's here. We need backup, now. How far out are you guys?"

"_Five minutes at the least."_

"Just get here fast." Peter added as he hung up and turned to Neal. "They're at least five minutes away."

Neal stood up and pointed to the monitor. "Peter, we don't have time. Klein could be out of there in less than two minutes! We have to go in _now_."

"Not until Jones and Diana get here! We don't know what this guy is capable of." Peter argued back but failed as Neal opened up the back of the van.

"Come on! We can get him." Neal gestured back to the computer screen. "He just came out the side exit, into that ally. Let's go!"

"I'm going to regret this." Peter sighed as he pulled out his gun and ran out across the street with Neal. "Shh…stay behind me." He whispered to Neal as he entered one of the side alleys. But it was no use as he saw Neal take a shortcut down a different ally.

"Dammit!" Peter yelled as he ran after Neal. When he made it to the ally, there was no sign of Neal or Klein. He began to turn around when he heard the sound of a gun cocking.

"Drop it. Now." a hard, rugged voice ordered behind him.

"Or what?" _Or you'll shoot me?_

"Turn around slowly and put the damn gun on the ground now or pretty boy here gets a bullet through his head."

_Oh, no…not Neal._ He knew they should have just waited for Jones and Diana.

Peter turned around slowly with his hands raised and saw Neal in a choke hold and Klein dangerously waving a gun around. Klein was carrying a tube around his arm that probably contained a priceless painting. He had to stall; backup was on the way.

"Peter." Neal said nervously.

"Neal, I-"

"Gun on the ground, NOW!" Klein yelled as he tightened his arm around Neal's neck and Peter saw Neal flinch.

Peter placed his gun slowly on the ground. "Now, just hold on. We can talk this out." Peter said calmly.

"No! Stop talking or I'll shoot you both!"

Neal wasn't the type of person just to sit around and do nothing; after all he proved that when he was the one who said they should pursue Klein on foot. He was done being held captive so he quickly decided to use his right elbow to jab into Klein's side, right by his kidney. However, this didn't work out quite as planned since Klein only tightened his grip even more. Neal knew he needed to ask someone about that combat training...

"You son of a—!"

"FBI! Drop your weapon!" Jones yelled ahead with Diana in tow.

_Perfect timing._ Peter thought with a smile.

Klein still held the gun and had Neal in the same choke hold as he looked around frantically. Suddenly, he released Neal and threw him to the ground as he turned around with his hands raised to face Jones and Diana. He finally placed his gun on the ground and put his hands behind his head as Diana walked over to cuff him and read his rights.

Peter walked quickly over to Neal and helped him off the ground.

"You okay?" Peter asked voice full of concern.

"I'm fine." Neal replied as he rubbed his neck. "That was pretty close."

"It was _very _close. Next time, we are waiting for backup."

"Can't argue with you there."

Jones made his way over to Neal and Peter. "You guys alright? Diana is taking Klein in now."

"Yeah, I think we're good." Peter said with a smile as he patted Neal on the back and they all made their way back to the van.

* * *

**(A/N):** Sorry I didn't update yesterday! I had a major writers block, my bad. Anyways, I hoped everyone liked this chapter and I know I already said it before but I'll say it again: thank you! I can't believe everyone is enjoying this. I thought long and hard of how Peter was going to apologize and I hope it was okay. Things still aren't back the way they are just yet between the two, so expect more to come!


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N):** I'm terribly sorry for the long wait! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for all the lovely reviews/favorites/story alerts! Any mistakes you find are my own and I don't own anything.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Elizabeth was at the dining table diligently planning out a new event for her company when her cell phone rang. It took her a while to actually find the source of the ringing underneath all of her papers.

"This is Elizabeth."

"_Hi, Elizabeth, it's Sara. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." _

"Oh, of course not! Peter's just out walking Satch and I need a break." Over the past couple of months, Elizabeth had grown to like Sara. She even thought that Sara could be the right woman for Neal, if that was possible. They both seemed happy together.

"_Well, since you're not busy, I'd love to invite you and Peter over to dinner at my place tonight. Ever since that dinner at your house, I wanted to do return the favor."_

"That would be lovely!" Elizabeth paused, "And I take it Neal will also be there?"

"_Uh, yes, actually he is. The thing is…he doesn't exactly know that you two are joining us. I wasn't sure if he was still fighting with Peter." _Sara said nervously over the phone.

"Peter did mention that they've closed up a few more cases recently. But he hasn't exactly said anything." Elizabeth replied sadly. "Maybe this dinner would be good for both of them."

"_That was my exact thought. And of course, I'd love to chat again._"

"Yes, me too! I feel that we've all been plagued by work lately."

"_Great, so you two can come by around 6?"_

"Sound wonderful! I'm sure I can coax Peter into making one of his pies."

"_Perfect, see you then!"_

Elizabeth hung up with Sara and got back to work. Not too soon after she heard the front door open to reveal Satchmo dragging Peter into the living room. Peter unleashed Satch and walked over to kiss Elizabeth.

"Hey, honey. How's the event coming?"

"Well, it's coming along, slowly. Anyways, hon, would you mind making a pie? Sara invited us to dinner tonight at 6."

"Oh." Peter paused. "Sure, I'll go get started." Peter then walked into the kitchen and started prepping for the pie.

Elizabeth guessed that Peter knew that Neal was going to be attending the dinner with them. She was fairly excited to go see Neal since he has only come by the house once since the whole Adler mess. Her two favorite men just needed to stop all this silliness and be friends again. Elizabeth began gathering up her papers and putting them aside to go help Peter with the pie.

* * *

Sara heard a knock at the door and looked through the eyehole to see Neal standing wearing his trademark fedora and holding a bottle of wine. She opened the door and he walked in.

"Hey." He leaned in for a kiss on the cheek. "You look beautiful tonight." Sara blushed since she did take a while picking out the right outfit for the dinner. In the end, she decided on a tasteful purple dress.

"You don't look too bad yourself." She smiled as Neal went over and placed the wine on the table. Sara quickly walked over and reached up and grabbed Neal's fedora.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Neal walked after her and attempted to grab his hat back numerous times but Sara proved to be quicker. After many failed attempts to recover his hat, Neal sat down and said, "Alright, I give up."

Sara made her way over to the couch but before she joined Neal, she gave a toss of the fedora, caught it in her right hand, and placed it smoothly on her head.

"You're not the only one with tricks." She grinned at him as she sat down.

"I have to admit, that was pretty slick." Neal said as he was returned his hat. "So how's w—" Neal was cut off as there was a knock at the door. "Are you expecting anyone else?" He inquired.

"Ah…" Sara paused. "I guess I forgot to tell you." Sara got up and made her way to the door, accompanied by a curious Neal.

"Sara, come on, you can't lie to me."

Sara refused to say more as she opened the door and of course, Elizabeth and Peter were standing there with a pie.

"It's good to see you two!" Elizabeth said after a quick awkward silence as she and Peter made their way into Sara's apartment.

"You too!" Sara said back as she and Elizabeth both exchanged a quick hug.

"Neal!" Elizabeth made her way over to him to give him a quick hug. "You know that you and Mozzie are welcome at the house anytime, right?"

Neal briefly glanced over at Peter who looked away. "Oh, we wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense! I'm off for a few days next week, you two can stop by then."

Neal was hesitant. "Sure, I'm sure Moz will be thrilled. I'll call him tomorrow." he said as he turned to follow Peter and Elizabeth into the dining room while Sara went to go finish up their meal. Elizabeth was just about to sit down when Sara called her name.

"Elizabeth, you wouldn't mind lending me a hand, if that's all right?" Sara asked politely. Elizabeth quickly processed what Sara was up to; she wanted to get Peter and Neal alone.

"Sure! I'd love to help." Elizabeth looked back over to Peter and Neal. "Play nice you two." She smiled as made her way into the kitchen.

Neal and Peter finally sat down in silence. This was a recurring theme for both of them. Things still weren't completely the same. The only time either of them really talked to each other was during a case.

Peter was getting tired of the silence and decided to break the ice. "So…"

Neal eye's stopped wandering around the room and made them back to the table. "So…"

"Sara's changed up the place since last time." Peter said, referring to a previous case when an assassin broke into Sara's apartment, gun set on Neal. Thankfully, Sara was also handy with a gun and the FBI came just in time.

"Yeah, she did." Neal said simply.

"It's done!" Sara announced as she carried out the spaghetti with Elizabeth.

"Looks, great." Neal said, happy that the women were back in the room.

And with that, dinner began.

* * *

Sara and El were cleaning up dinner after assuring the boys that they could take care of it on their own. During dinner, they all made small talk. Now, Neal and Peter sat back in Sara's couch while they overheard Sara and Elizabeth talking and laughing in the kitchen.

"They're something, aren't they?" Peter joked.

"Yeah, I'm starting to think they planned this whole thing for us." Neal said sarcastically.

"Oh, no, I bet they just wanted to talk more about shoes." Peter replied, equally sarcastic.

Neal rolled his eyes as he reached over to the coffee table to pour out more wine. "You sure you don't want some?"

Peter shook his head. "Naw, I'm fine with this." He rose up his Heisler beer bottle, thankful that Sara kept some around.

"Fine, suit yourself." Neal said as he poured himself a generous amount of wine into his glass.

Peter gave a muffled laugh.

"What's so funny?" Neal asked, not seeing anything funny with the situation. _Maybe Peter should lay off the beer…_ he thought.

"You said 'suit'. Made me think of Mozzie." Peter explained."Speaking of the little guy, where is he tonight? I thought he'd love to come with his ice cream suit jacket."

"Gina is in town this weekend." Neal took a sip of his wine.

"Ahh." Mozzie definitely expressed his feelings about his strawberry-blonde friend. Though, after her move to California, Moz promised that they were just friends with a common love for Voltaire.

Once again, it got quite for a good amount of time. The only sound was coming from Sara and El in the kitchen. _Man, those girls could talk._ Peter thought.

Neal coughed and Peter looked over to him. "So. Where does this leave us? They obviously wanted us to talk."

"I made a mistake. And I promise that it won't happen ever again. I trust that you'll have my back."

"Well, I believe in second chances."

"As do I." Peter agreed, obviously talking about Neal's agreement with the bureau.

"I still trust you Peter…to a certain extent. And I know you feel the same way about me."

"Yeah. So, we on the same page again?" Peter asked hopefully.

"I think we are good."

"Good."

"Great."

"Perfect."

"Do you really want to keep that going?" Neal finally said.

"No, we can stop." Peter laughed.

Neal and Peter turned their heads to the kitchen when they heard Sara and Elizabeth walking out.

"How are our favorite boys doing?"

Neal looked at Peter and then back to Sara and El and said, "Better than ever."

* * *

It was Monday morning when Neal walked into the office. He looked up to see Peter in Hughes' office, apparently discussing something important.

"Hey, Jones." Neal made his way over to Jones. "Any idea what they're talking about up there?"

"Beats me. They've been in there for about half an hour. Maybe it's about a new case?"

Jones and Neal glanced up at Hughes' office just in time to see Peter open the door and walk back to his office, with something in his hand. Neal saw his chance to find out what was going on and walked up the stairs to Peter's office. Just as he walked in, he saw Peter swiftly place that same piece of paper he had coming out of Hughes' office inside a folder.

"What's up? I saw you in Hughes' office. New case?" Neal sat down in the chair across from Peter. It felt odd for a second; he hasn't sat in the chair for a while, since before the Adler take down.

"Yes, we got a new case. And also, Hughes told me that the evidence recovery team just finished processing all the loot from the U-boat."

"Loot? Really, Peter?" Neal gave Peter a 'you've got to be kidding me look'. "Please, all that stuff was priceless. You can't just call it _loot._"

"Yeah, yeah." Peter threw a hand in the air and continued. "Anyways, they placed the value of all of the stuff near 10 billion dollars."

Neal gave a whistle. "Wow. That's unbelievable." Neal sighed. "The only thing that is bothering me now is the fact that all that art will be sitting in an FBI evidence recovery warehouse for a while. It's not fair, those pieces should be showcased."

"Well, it's not up to us. Besides, we got the new case to work on. Looks like its extortion this time."

"I'll go round up the Harvard crew." Neal got up and walked out of the office.

As soon as Neal was down in the bullpen, Peter pulled out the sheet of paper he placed under all the others and smiled.

* * *

"Good work today, everyone." Peter said to his team as they all were leaving the conference room. They just solved the extortion case they got earlier in the week. "Hey, Neal, wait a sec?" Peter called out to Neal.

"Need something?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the Met. El's hosting an event there and it's just about to start. She'd love for you to be there."

"I wouldn't want to disappoint." Neal said with a grin.

"Okay, let's head out now." Peter and Neal gathered their stuff, said their goodbyes, and walked out to the elevator.

* * *

**(A/N):** Part of the reason it took me forever to update was that I was a bit unsure of this chapter. Please let me know what you think! Oh and there is one more chapter after this. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**(A/N):** I now present the last chapter! Hope you enjoyed the story. Thanks for taking the time to read it/favorite/alert/review! Any mistakes you find are my own and I sadly don't own anything.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Peter and Neal were on their way to Elizabeth's event at the Met in the Taurus. Things were certainly starting to get back to normal for the agent and consultant.

"So did Elizabeth say what exhibit she's hosting the event for?"

"No, she didn't specify. She just said it's _breathtaking_."

"I wonder if she's talking about the new Renaissance exhibit." Neal wondered.

The rest of the car ride to the Met consisted of Neal talking all about what he's read about the Renaissance exhibit in detail.

"Are you sure you haven't seen it? It sure sounds like you have." Peter questioned as he looked for a decent place to park the car.

"Peter, you know very well that the Met is outside of my radius." Neal sighed.

"Oh, what? Now you're sulking?"

"I'm not sulking, Peter, just thinking." Neal paused. "And by the way, you just missed an empty parking spot." Neal smirked.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Peter said, frustrated, as he turned back around and parked the car.

After parking the Taurus, Peter and Neal made their way into the Met. Once Neal entered, he was surprised to see Mozzie standing in the middle of the hall wearing his ice cream suit jacket.

"Moz, I didn't know you were planning on being here tonight." Neal said as he walked over with Peter.

"Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans." Mozzie paused. "Peter F. Drucker."

"Interesting. Did Elizabeth invite you too?"

"She might have."

"Come on, you two, let's go meet up with El." Peter said as they all walked through the doors to the Met. He led them all down a few corridors before they arrived at the exhibit. Neal stopped dead in his tracks.

"Peter…I…what is this?" Neal was speechless. He looked at a huge sign that read _'The Hunter Collection'_. He quickly walked further into the room and saw all the art and treasure from the U-boat being displayed prominently.

Peter walked over to Neal. "You did say that it would have been a waste for all this to go unseen. I may have mentioned something to Hughes, who may have then mentioned it to the higher-ups."

Neal turned to Peter and looked at him in the eyes. "But…why?"

"Why? Because I think my apology needed more than just an 'I'm sorry'." Peter paused. "I did it because I wanted to do something nice for you."

"Peter, I really don't know what to say." Neal was completely out of his element from the shock. Peter did this for _him._ It was overwhelming to say the least.

"You don't have to say anything." Peter was going to say more but was stopped when he felt Neal pull him into a hug. It was safe to say that Peter was also out of his element. Even so, Peter returned the hug and they pulled apart.

Neal looked to Peter and said, "Thank you." They were two simple words that had so much feeling behind them. Neal wanted to say more, but he didn't because what he was feeling right now could not be put into words.

They continued to walk around and look at all the artifacts when they spotted Mozzie accompanied by none other than Gina, who seemed to have extended her visit from California. Suddenly, Neal felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around.

"Alex."

"Pleasantly surprised?" She smiled.

"You could say that. How did you know about this?" Neal asked.

"I might have asked Mozzie to contact her." Peter spoke up.

"Thank you for all of it, Peter. My grandfather would have loved to see this." Alex said. "Well, I need to catch a flight. I'll be in touch." She added before she made her way out of the exhibit.

After a little bit more exploring, they spotted Elizabeth and Sara making their way over to them through the crowd of people.

"So, what do you think?" Elizabeth smiled at him and Peter.

"It's fabulous, hon." Peter said

"It is truly _breathtaking_, Elizabeth." Neal winked. "Tell me, Sara, were you in on this too?" he questioned as he turned to Sara.

"I can neither confirm nor deny." She smiled mischievously.

"Ah, I guess that answers my question."

"I need to make sure Yvonne found more of those pamphlets, I only have one more. Sara would you mind coming with me?" Elizabeth asked.

"No problem." Sara said.

"Here, you boys have this one, I'll get some more. We'll catch up with you two later!" Elizabeth and Sara waved goodbye as they disappeared back into the crowd.

Neal looked at the pamphlet that had the title _The Hunter Exhibit_ typed across with pictures of the priceless art throughout it. He turned to Peter.

"So this is what you hid earlier in the week when you came out of Hughes' office?"

"Ah, I hoped you didn't see me with it."

"Well, I had no clue what it was for. You were pretty good about keeping it a secret." Neal admitted.

"I guess I learned from the best."

"That you did. But know more secrets now, right?" Neal asked.

"You got that right, partner." Peter smiled as he patted Neal on the back and they continued to walk around the exhibit together.

* * *

**(A/N):** Oh wow! My first story is actually done. I had fun writing this and I already have plans for new stories, but this time I think I might write all the chapters at once. I hope you liked the ending. When I started thinking up ideas for the story, I just envisioned everyone together at a museum with all the treasure. I know that the hug might have been a little OOC, but I really wanted to put one in, haha I squealed when they did hug in Payback, it was adorable. Well, I guess that's it for this story, thanks again!


End file.
